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Nearly twelve months ago Gareth Bale, scored a Champions League Final goal that will go down in history as one of the best ever in European football.

With Real Madrid’s game against Liverpool hanging on a knife-edge at 1-1, up stepped the Welshmen with an overhead kick that turned the tie so far in the favour of ‘Los Blancos’, they never looked back as they strolled magnificently towards a 3-1 victory over Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Yet despite almost single handily winning Real their 13th European Title, Bale has been frozen out dramatically in the Spanish capital this season. Zinedine Zidane left last summer, only too come back again after his two successors flopped as badly as Bale’s Madrid career has done.

ZiZou has told the former Tottenham star his time at the Bernabeu is over, and will play little game time under him as Real recover from a season which by their standards, has been a shocker.

Here in Britain, we feel Gareth Bale has lacked every sense of compassion needed to excel in a white shirt, despite scoring over 100 goals in six seasons. With his own career at a cross-road, it’s now time for the Welsh wizard to come back to where to all started.

Not at Southampton though, where the winger began his career now over a decade ago. Only a return to Spurs under Mauricio Pochettino, or up north to Old Trafford under Solskjaer will be where Bale can reignite his career.

Under Ed Woodward, United have gone for the Harlem Globetrotters route in order to win their 21st league title. Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba have all been recruited to get themselves back to former glory. Sadly for Woodward, three previous managers and millions of worldwide fans, nothing seems to have worked.

Following this type of model may mean Bale is simply the wrong route to go down. At 30, United may only see him at peak level for two maybe three seasons at a push, but the Red Devils need to find success on the pitch quickly, therefore, they may have no choice but to make their move.

On an 18 million euros salary a year, the question could be who can afford him. According to the Guardian, Bale isn’t up for moving anyway unless he sees a team he finds just right.

Yet, he will know perfectly well how the land lies with regards to his future under Zidane. If going off past history under Daniel Levy, Tottenham would probably be unable to afford his high salary and manager Pochettino has left the door wide open regarding his own future.

United know who will be their manager come August and Bale himself knows that Thursday night football awaits him in the Europa League, should he swap white for red. On the other hand, a player of his statue is far to good to sit on the bench at Getafe FC away on a Sunday night.

The Premier League will welcome the talented forward back home with open arms. With Eden Hazard set to leave Chelsea, English football needs a star-studded replacement. It’s time United took the plunge.

It’s officially the transfer window and, it’s going to be a crazy season in terms of players linked with a move to Old Trafford.

However, one player that many Manchester United fans will be hoping is more than just a rumour, is one of the hottest prospects not only in Ligue 1 but across Europe – Nicolas Pepe.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in need of some quality players, and he will be sure to look at bringing in exciting talent. As the Norwegian bids to reignite the Old Trafford crowd next season, after what was a dismal end to a dismal season.

The Red Devils need a player to play out on the right wing, it’s a position that they have on the whole struggled to fill last season. With no recognised natural squad player within the ranks, it’s got to be on the priority list behind defensive reinforcements.

The Lille player has had one hell of a season, scoring 21 and assisting 11 in his 38 games throughout last campaign. At just 23 years old, the Ivory Coast international is certainly on the tongues of many teams across the leagues.

He’s a dribbling, fast-paced winger, who likes to cut inside and look for the through ball. He has a keen eye for goal and is certainly one that could give the Stretford end that excitement when he gets on the ball.

Currently rated at 36m, Pepe will be going for at least double that in the summer should he leave Lille, especially in today’s market.

Solskjaer should go all out for Pepe, if Ed Woodward can pull it out of the bag it would make the whole league ears prick up. Grabbing a talent like Pepe would be a great signing and, one that can help the Red Devils through their transitional period, with them looking to become more than a sixth-placed team.

Kalidou Koulibaly has established himself as one of the best centre-backs around in recent season with his impressive performances with Napoli.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs major defensive reinforcements this summer, as it’s been widely reported on. A defensive pairing of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones doesn’t frighten many attackers, and success is built from the back with a decent foundation – As well the Norwegian knows.

In what is going to be a defining window at Old Trafford, a high class and strong defender is going to be high on the priority list.

The 27-year-old has a strong passing game amongst other attributes, which would be perfect for Solskjaer’s plan of turning defence into attack with his own brand of attacking football. Carlo Ancelotti recently described the defender as one of the best in the world, so his talent is there for all to see and is no wonder United are trying to get him signed up as soon as possible.

He would also come with a wealth of experience under his belt having played Champions League football and featured in a very exciting Napoli side in Serie A.

The Red Devils can not gamble on a defender with potential, they have that already in Victor Lindelof. Solskjaer needs a player that can bring the Swede on, potentially pairing him up with Koulibaly who is entering his peak years could be a stroke of genius if Ole can pull it off.

Man United fans, what do you make of Koulibaly – would he welcomed addition to Old Trafford?

Well, the Premier League season as finally come to a close, it was a nail-biting season for some fans, and it came down to the last game to decide who became Premier League champions.

However, if you’re a Manchester United fan, like myself there was nothing to celebrate, in fact, it was a dreadful season, to say the least. After witnessing an utter shambles in the last match of the season at Old Trafford against relegated Cardiff City, it’s clear to see that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a massive rebuilding job on his hands.

The team needs a massive clear out, there’s a lot of deadwood within that Manchester United team, from back to front, and there are players within the first team that aren’t quite good enough. The defence is shocking, three of the defenders who played in our last game were terrible, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Ashley Young have simply not been good enough and Ole needs to move them on, recruiting a right back and a centre back to partner Victor Lindelof.

Then there’s the midfield…Paul Pogba gets a lot of stick off the fans which I’ve heard first hand myself. Yes, he’s been inconsistent but it’s not entirely his fault. In my opinion and many Manchester United fans will probably disagree with me, Pogba is a talent but he needs good players around him.

Unfortunately, with Ander Herrera leaving on a free, he hasn’t got good players around him, and I don’t feel Pogba can carry a team on his own.

Just look at our neighbours Manchester City, their midfield consists of four very good players. I want Pogba to stay put and for Ole to build the team around him, recruit one or two creative midfielders to help Pogba and to take the pressure off him.

Scott McTominay isn’t good enough to play in the first team, and Nemanja Matic is defensive, Fred and Andreas Pereira need to step up to the plate. With Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial upfront and the likes of Mason Greenwood coming through the ranks, if these three starts firing then the attack isn’t too bad, although I’d move Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez on and cash in on them.

The other factor is that the players aren’t fit enough to play the style of football Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants his players to play. There looked burnt out, so first and foremost Ole needs to get the players fitness up to standards where they can maintain fast and attacking football.

Solskjaer will no doubt need to replace departing and departed players such as Herrera and possibly Juan Mata, with rumours circulating about Pogba’s future, Ole may need to replace him.

There’s no doubting that the job Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as got is a massive job, and from what I witnessed at Old Trafford on the final game of the season the rebuilding process is going to take three years. I’m just hoping that the hierarchy at Manchester United stick with Ole, and back him by not becoming a club where we sack are managers willy nilly.

Furthermore, I also worry with Ed Woodward in charge at the club, that Manchester United will never progress. The only way that will happen is if Ed Woodward is sacked, and again I can’t see that happening unless the Saudi Arabia royal family buy the club. Then maybe they will sack Ed Woodward… but one can only dream.

As the season draws to a close, that means one thing, the transfer window is due to be open, and with that, the transfer rumours run rife.

One transfer rumour that has reared its ugly head yet again is that of Paul Pogba’s future at Manchester United. This time United’s talisman has been linked to a potential move to Real Madrid. Manchester United are unwilling to part ways with there star player, and Ed Woodward will not make it easy for Real Madrid but he may be tempted to sell the French World Cup-winning midfielder if, Real Madrid can stump up £160m.

There’s no doubt that Pogba as bags of talent, and is Man Utd’s best player, but his consistency on the pitch continues to let him down. If the inevitable happens and Pogba does jump ship, one thing is for sure Ole Gunner Solskjær will have to replace him.

Two players Ole should be looking at to replace Pogba, ironically have been dubbed the ‘new Paul Pogba’ and the ‘Serbian Paul Pogba’…

Sergej Milinković-Savić

The Serbian as established himself, in the modern sense of the term, as the complete midfielder. The 24-year-old possesses the physicality and height of a defensive midfielder, but also blends his movements and attacking ability of an attacking midfielder. With his height he can also be a target man, these attributes have earned him the name ‘Paul Pogba of Serbia’

Furthermore, he’s also been compared to previous players such as Yaya Toure and Zinedine Zidane. Sergej has been a stand out performer for Lazio for the past couple of seasons, and with four goals and four assists to his name this season, it’s no surprise that he’s caught the eye of other European clubs including Man Utd.

Rated at 67.5m Sergej Milinkovic-Savic could be an ideal replacement for Pogba.

Tanguy Ndombele

France keeps churning out world-class talent, the latest being Tanguy Ndombele. The 22-year-old Lyon midfielder has already been dubbed the ‘new Paul Pogba’. He is physically mature and possesses incredible dribbling skills, which as akin to ex-Spurs player Moussa Dembele. The Lyon man also has raw power and accurate dribbling which is so rare.

Boasting 5.65 dribbles per game with an 81.6% completion rate, Ndombele is a natural and dangerous dribbler. The young Frenchman is also an accurate passer of the ball, with 52.22 passes per game at an impressive 89.1% success rate, Ndombele has the ability to cut open sides and manipulate possession, alongside 8.66 successful passes into the final third, Ndombele is a progressive passer.

This is what makes him different to the ex-Spurs man Dembele. Simply put he is a powerhouse, and if he decides to leave Lyon and his homeland and chooses the right move he could set the world alight. With teams such as Man City, Juventus and Spurs keeping tabs on this talented midfielder, Man Utd will have a fight on their hands in securing his signature, but it’s a fight worth taking as Tanguy Ndombele would easily fill the boots of Paul Pogba.

Much as been made over the need for Champions League football at Old Trafford next season.

Granted last time the Red Devils qualified for the Europa League, they went big in the transfer market and massively overspent on players to lure them to Manchester, eventually winning the competition.

However, this time around is a completely different feel to back then. Solskjaer needs to rebuild a squad that has lacked any sort of consistency over the years, there’s deadwood in there that should have gone a long time ago and a need to bring in players to suit the style and history of Old Trafford.

Being in the Europa League may not be what the financial people want at the club. However, what United must learn from the last time they were in this position is not splash the cash to hunt for instant success. United now need to rebuild over two, three transfer windows, time has to be given and recruitment needs to be on point.

United are competing in the market with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs and going toe-to-toe in a bidding war is not what the board want to get involved in.

Looking outside the box, using their vast scouting network and most of all being shrewd. Man United is still a big attraction for the majority of players around the world, and throwing cash at players shouldn’t have to be the answer. The Norwegian needs to convince players to be apart of the rebuild – one that could see some further bad times for the United faithful.

However, if they now and understand that the club is restructuring from top to bottom, they’ll be a little more forgiving: as long as they don’t go into mid-table mediocrity of course.

United could attract the type of player that is up for the battle over the salary, players with prospect. So maybe, just maybe finishing in the Europa League spots could be a blessing and drive United into going a different direction. They can’t afford to throw more money at flops and underperforming players anymore.

This is a crucial time in United’s recent history, and one they can’t afford to get wrong.

There has been much made over Man United’s need to revamp the backline, with reports suggesting Ed Woodward is going to allow a turnstile of transfers this summer. It very much seems the Red Devils are going to have to be transfer savvy in the market, which will no doubt fluctuate again in high prices.

Alongside Real Madrid and Bayern Munich who are looking to rebuild their teams, and inevitably the likes of the top six – the competition for players is going to be high, and the highest bidder will probably get their man.

Woodward and Solskjaer need to think outside the box a little, furthermore, after some poor recruitment in recent years, the need to get it right is unparalleled. United will be looking to find the likes of Vidic, Evra, Irwin, Stam, the type of players that won’t break the bank but will deliver on the pitch on a consistent basis.

Below is a two-man shortlist of centre backs who have performed very well this season and mainly kept under the radar…

Marc Bartra

The Real Betis defender has played 34 times this season in La Liga and the Europa League, although his one goal proves he is not going to be the aerial threat in the oppositions box.

He has a very strong passing game, with an overall accuracy this season of 88.6%. His strengths are tackling, ball interception and high concentration levels. He also likes to dribble out of defence, however, he can hold on to the ball a little to long at times.

The former Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund player has a host of trophies under his belt, and with his 22m price tag – could be a steal!

Willi Orban

The RB Leipzig defender has starred in the Bundesliga this season, helping his side up to third in the table.

Orban is very strong in the air and likes to play the ball out of defence, with no visible weaknesses, this 24-year-old Hungarian international could be a gem of a defender for the Red Devils.

Having scored four goals in his 20 appearances for RB Leipzig, he seems a nuisance in and around the box. Alongside his 13.50m price tag, here is another defender that could be a snip of a signing with a bright future ahead of him.